The invention relates to a dishwasher, in particular a free-standing dishwasher or a high-level built-in dishwasher, having an appliance door and at the bottom a plinth cover aligned substantially flush with an appliance front face. Said plinth cover has a top wall which faces towards a lower edge of the appliance door and is spaced from the lower edge of the appliance door to allow for an opening movement of the appliance door across a free movement gap.
Dishwashers have optical status indicators which indicate proper operation of the dishwasher and/or the operating status of a wash program for washing and/or drying dishes and utensils. In fully-integrated dishwashers, which are essentially free of operator control and display means and are built into a line of units and covered by a counter top matched to the line of units in order to match the appliance front of the line of units, such status indicators can, for example, illuminate an edge gap between the dishwasher and adjacent kitchen units in order to indicate the operating status, as is known from DE 10 2005 047 914 A1.
As an alternative, a dishwasher which can be built under and in whose plinth recess a lighting element is arranged and directed towards the floor and thus indicates an operating status of the dishwasher, is known from EP 1 421 893 A1 and EP 1 576 632 A1.
Apart from the above-mentioned appliance types, dishwashers which are free-standing are known. Such a generic type of free-standing appliance is known from DE 10 2004 046 753 A1. In contrast to the above-mentioned appliance types, the free-standing appliance cannot be joined to the walls of adjacent units or to a kitchen counter top running above it. Such types of free-standing dishwashers therefore react more sensitively to tilting moments than fully-integrated dishwashers, for example.
Therefore, to prevent tilting of the free-standing appliance, the front feet of the appliance must be placed further forward. The mounting base of the dishwasher therefore extends up to the front face of the appliance. The front face of the mounting base is provided with a plinth cover. In contrast to appliances which can be built under, for instance, this is not displaced rearwards via a plinth recess, but is aligned essentially flush with the front face of the appliance. Moreover, the bottom plinth cover has top wall facing the lower edge of the appliance door, which is spaced from the lower edge of the appliance door to ensure a pivoting motion of the appliance door across a free movement gap, thereby preventing a collision between the lower edge of the appliance door and the plinth cover.
Washing machines can also be constructed as integrated appliances which are inserted into a line of kitchen units, it being possible for a counter top to be arranged as a cover above the washing machine and the line of kitchen units.
Furthermore, it is known for washing machines to be of the high-level built-in type, that is to say the washing machine is inserted into a line of kitchen units, it being possible for the section underneath the washing machine to be likewise covered by a counter top which covers a drawer, for example. In this case, no plinth recess is provided, but a drawer, for example, is provided in this area.
Finally, drawer-type dishwashers are known, which instead of a hinged appliance door, which can for example be swung forward about a bottom swivel axis, in order to open a wash container, have an appliance door configured as a drawer which is not hinged but can be withdrawn like a kitchen drawer, it being possible for the wash container to have, like a kitchen drawer, an upwards-directed opening for loading dishes and utensils, that is to say an opening oriented opposite to the direction of the swivel force.